The NOISE String Quartet, this year’s Ensemble in Residence at the ANU School of Music, are a string quartet with a difference. They are primarily an improvising ensemble whose sound includes electronics and a plethora of extended techniques. Their most recent ventures were the creation of their albums, “Composed Noise” – including seven new string quartets from seven composers, each of which contained an element of improvisation – and, “The Stream”, a set of improvisations. Last week, as a music student at ANU, I had the privilege of being able to attend several open rehearsals, workshops, and was generally able to pick the brains of these fantastic musicians. Their concert on Tuesday evening (March 31, 2015) was absolutely mind-blowing and consisted of improvised sets alongside new music and the world premiere of Alex Pozniak’s, “Force Fields”.

ANU student composers, including myself, composed works for the ensemble that were premiered at the Lunchbox Concert, Thursday April 2 (2015). It was an amazing experience being able to work with this ensemble!